Janet Woodcock
Principal Deputy Commissioner, US Food and Drug Administration
Janet Woodcock is the FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner. In this role, she works closely with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to develop and implement key public health initiatives and helps oversee the agency’s day-to-day functions. She served as the Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs from Jan. 20, 2021, until Feb. 17, 2022.Dr. Woodcock began her FDA career in 1986 at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) where she served as the Director of the Division of Biological Investigational New Drugs and as Acting Deputy Director and Director of CBER’s Office of Therapeutics Research and Review, which oversaw the approval of the first biotechnology-based treatments for multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis during her tenure. Dr. Woodcock holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA), and a Doctor of Medicine from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School (Chicago). She is board certified in internal medicine.
